Machine for washing, drying, and polishing tumblers, cups, and like articles



Feb. 25, 1936.

. GRIFFITHS 2,032,013 MACHINE F W ING, DRYING, AND POLISHING TUMB S, CUPS, AND LIKE ARTICLES 'Original Filed Jan. 28, 1931 3 SheeJcs-Shee'fl l Feb 25, W36. GRIFFIN-ls 2,032,013

MACHINE L W ING, DRYING, AND POLISHING TUMB RS, UPS, AND LIKE ARTICLES Origin Filed Jan, 28, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 @www Feb. 25, 1936. GRlFF-'lTl-ls 2,()32Q013 MACHINE FOR W HING, DRYING, AND POLISHING TUMBLERS, CUPS, AND L AR LES A Original Filed Jan. l 5 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 @EW fg 77 /vveNTR Patented Feb. 25, 1936 srr OFFICE MACHINE FOR WASHING, DRYING, AND POLISHING TUlimLERS, CUPS, AND LIKE ARTICLES Application January 28, 1931, Serial No. 511,839.

Renewed August 8, 1935. In Great Britain ,No-

vember 24, 1930 3 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for washing, drying and polishing tumblers, cups and like articles or hollow ware (hereinafter for convenience termed glasses), of the type employing squeegees carried by a rotary head.

The object of my present invention is to provide improved machines which will clean and polish glasses of widely varying shapes and sizes without striping the same or leaving unpolished parts in bulges or like excrescences on or around the glasses. The shapes and dimensions of glasses in ordinary use are very diverse. Tumblers, for example, may be cylindrical (with either flat or rounded bottoms), tapered, hour glass shaped, barrel shaped, and may have bulges thereon combined with a cylindrical, a tapered, an hour glass or a barrel shape. Wine glasses also Vary very considerably in shape and dimensions, and ordinai-ily would require many different shapes of washing and polishing elements to deal with them.

By research and experiment I have found that if a squeegee of the type having its operative part in the form of a strip projecting from a base in the direction in which the head is rotating, be arranged so that its operative edge is of curved or partly of curved form and lies at an angle to the axis of rotation of the head by which the squeegees are carried, so as to tend to act as an impeller to discharge out of the glass any liquid therein, and if the carrying means allow of the automatic adjustment of the squeegees to suit the size oi glass being dealt with, then an eicient cleansing and polishing can be effected of the internal surfaces of glasses of very diverse shapes and sizes.

My invention comprises the arrangement of each of the inner squeegees with a strip having an operative longitudinal edge projecting from said base in the direction in which said head is rotating, the part of said operative longitudinal edge in proximity to the closed end of a glass being washed being angularly in advance of the part in proximity to the mouth of the glass, having regard to the direction of rotation of the head.

The invention further comprises the novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying sheets of explanatory drawingsz- Figure 1 is a side view of one half of a glass washing machine head showing a glass (in section) being passed into the cleaning position.

Figure 2 is a detail View of the means carrying the inner squeegee elements, with one squeegee in position thereon, such squeegee being the one which clears the bottom of the glass.

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2, but showing one of the other inner squeegees which clean the internal wall of the glass only.

Figure 4 is a view looking at the operative edge of the squeegee of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a view of the squeegee of Figure 3 looking at the front from behind the operative edge.

Figure 6 is an end view looking from right to left in Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a sectional end view on the line 1-1 of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a view of one half of a washing machine headv adapted for dealing with wine glasses.

Figure 9 is a sectional View on the line 9-9 o1' Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a View of a washing machine head similar to that shown in Figure 8, but containing certain modifications in construction.

Figure l1 is an end view looking from right to left of Figure 10.

Figures 12 and 13 are respectively a Side View and a rear view of a squeegee as used in the Figure 8 and Figure l0 constructions for operating on the outside of the glasses.

Figures 14 and l5 are side views from diierent View points Figure 15 being a view of Figure 14 looking downwardly in the direction of the arrow in Figure 14, and Figure 16 an end View of a squeegee as embodied in Figures 8 and 10 for the interior of the glass.

Referring to Figures 1-"1, there are three squeegees a, b and c to clean the interior of the glass and three similar squeegees d to clean the eX- terior of the glass. One of the inner squeegees, namely a, has an extension piece e which extends across the bottom of a glass when the latter has been pressed onto the inner squeegees to the full extent in order to clean the bottom. The other two inner squeegees have not similar extensions.

Each squeegee is oi the type comprising a base strip f in which a metal plate is incorporated for securing the squeegees to their supports and a projecting rib g at an angle to the base, the direction of projection being that in which the squeegee is rotating.

The outer squeegees are each mounted upon an arm or lever h pivoted at i to a fixed support j carried by the base piece k. A spring m connected to said lever h and to the base presses the squeegee carried by the arm inwards towards the link being connected to a lever o pivoted to a link p secured to the base 1c and also pivoted to a collar q slidable upon the stem 1' by which the cleaning head is carried and rotated. The links n, levers o and collar q ensure uniform movements of the outer squeegees and therefore equal pressure upon the glass s which maintains it central with relation to the inner squeegees. The latter are each pivotally secured to three links t, u and u. t is pivotally connected to a collar w slidable on the stem :r and held in its outer position by a spring y. u is pivoted to the fixed stem m. o is pivoted to a collar y1 sldable on the stern :c against the action of a spring a. It will be seen,

y therefore, that each of the inner squeegees can adjust itself automatically to suit the internal conguration of the glass being cleaned, but that all the squeegees move in unison so that they exert a uniform pressure on the surface of the glass.

The operative edge g1 of each inner squeegee is partly straight, and partly curved as is shown in Figure 5, the curved part being at the lower end of the squeegee towards the open end of the glass being cleaned.

The operative face of each inner squeegee is at an angle to the axis of the stem so as to act to discharge liquid out of the glass and the curved part turns sharply away from the straight part. With this arrange-ment I find that the curved part of the rubber will enter any out- Ward swells on the glass surface and eiectually cleanse and subsequently polish the same, whilst when the glass has been sufficiently withdrawn from the squeegees to free the curved parts from the glass surface, the latter or exposed parts move outwards and so prevent the other ends of the squeegees from entering the bulges and striping the same.

The inward pressure of the outer squeegees may hold the inner squeegees in position to enter the open end of the glass to be cleaned or the shape and positions of the inner elements may ensure their natural entry into a glass independent of the pressure of the outer elements. The outer squeegees have their projecting strips set at an angle tothe axis of the head. The part d1 of each one thereof is bent outwards to provide a diverging mouth to guide the glass being placed between the inner and outer squeegees.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 8 and 9, the inner squeegees are of curved form only along their operative projecting edges g1 and are particularly adapted for cleaning Wine glasses and liqueur glasses which are curved at the. bottom. Each inner squeegee is carried upon an arm 3 pivoted at l to a block 6 slidable within a tubular part 'l secured to the base lc. Each arm 3 is also connected by a link 8 to a lug I3 upon a projecting stem Il) which is slidable in blockl 6. With this arrangement when the ihner squeegees engage the curved bottom of the glass s1, pressure upon the glass moves the said squeegees and the block 6 and stem I0 vbodily towards the right in f Figure 8 which enables the router squeegees to clean a larger area of the outside of the `glass than would otherwise be possible. The outer squeegees are arranged as shown in Figures 1-7.

A spring Il resists the movement of the block 6 towards the right in Figure 8 and a spring l2 presses the lugs I3 on stem I9 towards the left in said figure to hold the squeegees in an extended position.

In Figures 10-16, the inner squeegees are the same as in Figures 8 and 9, but are shown in detail in Figures 14-16 whereI the projecting strip g1 with its curved edge will be clearly seen. The strip is also set at an angle to the axis of the stem of the device as before described. The pivotal connection of the arms 3 to the stern la is fixed and not slidable as in Figures 8 and 9.

The outer squeegees d2 with projecting strips g2 upon the base strips f2 are carried by arms l? fixed at I8 to levers I9 pivoted to the base k1 at point 23. Other levers 20 pivoting about links 2| are connected to the collar q1 upon which presses the spring 22.

I may vary the details of my improved mechanisms to suit requirements. It will be understood that during washing of glasses, liquid is admitted through the central rotating stem. For polishing, the liquid supply is discontinued with the result that the squeegees impart a dry bright surface to the glass.

The action of the inner squeegees is assisted by centrifugal force which assists the projecting. strips to maintain rm contact withthe glass surface. 'I'he ends of the inner squeegees are soft so that they yield when pressed against the inner end of a glass.

What I claim is:-

1. The combination in machines for washing, drying and polishing glasses, of a rotating head, and inner and outer squeegees upon said head, each of said inner squeegees consisting of a rubber base and having` a strip with an operative longitudinal edge projecting from saidbase in the direction in which said head is rotating, the part of said operative longitudinal edge in proximity to the closed end of a glass being washed being angularly in advance of the part in proximity to the mouth of the glass, having regard to the vdirection of rotation of the head.

2. The combination in machines for washing, drying and polishing glasses of a rotating head, and inner and outer squeegees upon said head, each of said inner squeegees consisting of a rubber base and having a strip with an operative longitudinal edge which is partly straight and partly curved, projecting from said base in the direction in which said head is rotating, the end of the straight part in proximity to the closed end of a glass being washed being angularly slightly in advance of the other end of the straight part, having regard to the direction of rotation of the head whilst the curved part slopes away relatively rapidly from the straight part.

3. The combination with a device for washing, drying and polishing glasses as claimed in claim 1 of means connecting said inner and outer squeegees to said rotating head and rendering uniform the pressure applied by all of said inner and outer squeegees respectively to the surface of the glass.

ALFRED GRIFFITHS. 

